Attorney General Grewal Announces Total of $196 Million in MTBE Settlements with Sunoco, BP and Shell

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced today that three petroleum conglomerates have agreed to pay the State a total of $196.5 million to resolve their liability for damage to the environment and injury to natural resources caused by a gasoline additive known as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

Defendant Sunoco – including Sunoco, Inc. and Sunoco, Inc. (R&M) – has already paid the State $64 million to resolve its liability for MTBE damages.

Notice of the three proposed settlements was previously published in the New Jersey Register. All three settlements were subject to a public comment period, and all three have been reviewed and approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“These are important legal settlements on behalf of New Jersey citizens – not only in terms of the dollars, but in terms of sending a message that we are committed to working with DEP to protect our State’s natural resources and hold accountable companies that pollute,” said Attorney General Grewal.

Sunoco, BP and Shell were among nearly 50 companies named in a June 2007 lawsuit in which the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sued oil and chemical companies for damages to New Jersey’s groundwater resulting from their manufacture, blending and distribution of MTBE.

The defendants include major petroleum refiners, distributors and sellers of gasoline in New Jersey, as well as independent chemical manufacturers of MTBE.

DEP’s lawsuit alleged that MTBE was detected in groundwater at sites throughout the State.

With the three settlements announced today, the Division of Law has obtained more than $350 million in settlements with defendant companies in the MTBE litigation.

DEP continues to pursue its MTBE damage claims against the remaining defendants who have not settled, including ExxonMobil.

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